The Extent to Which Fear and Pragmatism were the Major Factors in the Passing of the Great Reform Act
There were a lot of major factors surrounding the passing of the Great
Reform Act, with a continuous fear of revolution by the radicals and
the collaboration of the working and middle classes. The situation
worsened with the collapse of the Whig government and this led to the,
somewhat pragmatic, eventual passing of the Act in 1832.
One of the reasons why the Great Reform Act was passed was to get rid
of the rotten boroughs. The rotten boroughs meant that by 1831,
Lancashire with a population of 1.3 million had just 14 MPs, while
Cornwall with only 300,000 was represented by 42 MPs. Borough
electorates varied enormously: some like Liverpool had over 5,000
members, but some like Old Sarum literally only had a handful. They
were controlled by the wealthy members of society, usually
aristocrats. They fulfilled a useful purpose in allowing the election
of a promising young MP, but could equally maintain the position of an
unpopular member; these rotten boroughs were common. They wanted to
revise the constituencies in order to make the fast growing industrial
towns have representations in the House of Commons. The extent of
electoral corruption was obvious and was contributory to the passing
of the Great Reform Act.
Another factor was that you had to have property worth 40 shillings
(£2) in order to be eligible for voting. The relative decline in the
value of property meant that the numbers eligible to vote in elections
for county seats had steadily increased. However, this would obviously
not include the working class, so fear of revo...
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...am IV now agreed to the creation of the new peers to solve a
major constitutional crisis. Accordingly, the King asked Grey to form
a ministry four days later. Under sever public pressure, the
anti-reform stance collapsed completely and the threat of the creation
of the new peers was enough to convince the Lords that they had to
give way. Most Tory peers abstained and the Bill on its third reading,
by 106 and 22. On 7th June 1832, the Bill received Royal approval.
Overall, the initial fear of revolution remained throughout the battle
of introducing the Great Reform Act. However, despite anti-reformists
opinions, Britain found itself in absolute catastrophe and action was
needed to be taken. This then resulted in the growing extent of
pragmatism being a major factor over the passing of the Bill, for fear
of revolution.
The G.I. Bill then passed both houses of Congress with many of Rankin’s restrictions dropped and the re...
term effects of the act were not as helpful as many had planned it to
In his book, A New Deal for the American People, Roger Biles analyzes the programs of the New Deal in regards to their impact on the American society as a whole. He discusses the successes and failures of the New Deal policy, and highlights the role it played in the forming of American history. He claims that the New Deal reform preserved the foundation of American federalism and represented the second American Revolution. Biles argues that despite its little reforms and un-revolutionary programs, the New Deal formed a very limited system with the creation of four stabilizers that helped to prevent another depression and balance the economy.
Biles, Roger. A. "A New Deal for the American People" Taking Sides Clashing Views on Controversial Issues in American History. eds. -. Larry Madaras et al.
George Washington Plunkitt was a complicated politician from New York in the 1900’s. He had his own questionable way of seeing what’s right and what’s wrong. Plunkitt’s Ideas of right a wrong sometimes seemed to be off. However, some of his ideas about things that needed to be reformed were as true then as they are now. Plunkitt seemed to be a man that knew how to get what he wanted out of people with very little effort. From the perspective of an outsider this could make him hard to trust, but to people then this wasn’t a problem.
The Progressive Movement that occurred during the early 20th century was a time of major reform in the United States of America. During this time, there was a group of activists that referred to themselves as the Progressives, and they sought to change society for the people. The way that they intended to do this was change through their ideals of democracy, efficiency, regulation, and social justice. With this movement came the election that changed the course of America’s history “…demonstrating a victory for progressive reforms as both Progressive candidates accounted for 75 percent of all the votes” (Bowles). The candidates in this election were Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson.
This shift in power resulted in presidents being able to dictate, with the threat of a veto, the way Congress writes laws. This set a precedent for future presidents to push legislation such as "The New Deal", "The Fair Deal", and "a Great Society" all of which are presidential proposals.
The Effects of American Reform Movements in the 1900s Living in the United States of America is all about opportunity. The opportunity to get a good job, make money, and lead a life of good quality; in other words, the opportunity to live, live, and live the Pursuit of Happiness. However, the opportunity for many people was not around throughout the 1800s. Certain groups of people did not hold the basic rights that were guaranteed by the Constitution. In fact, most of the people that had opportunity were the wealthy white men, and few other people ever had any chance to lead a good life.
2. Roche, John P. "The Founding Fathers: A Reform Caucus in Action". American Politics. Houghton Mifflin Company. Boston, MA. 1999. (Pages 8 -- 20).
While some citizens of the United States, between 1825 and 1850, believed that reform was foolish and that the nation should stick to its old conduct, reformists in this time period still sought to make the United States a more ideally democratic nation. This was an age of nationalism and pride, and where there was pride in one’s country, there was the aspiration to improve one’s country even further. Many new reformist and abolitionist groups began to form, all attempting to change aspects of the United States that the respective groups thought to be unfair or unjust. Some groups, such as lower and middle class women and immigrants, sought to improve rights within the county, while other reformers aspired to change the American education system into a more efficient way of teaching the county’s youth. Still other reform groups, particularly involved in the church and the second great awakening, wanted to change society as a whole. This was a time and age of change, and all these reforms were intended to contribute to the democratic way our country operated.
Within the period of 1900-1920, many national reforms were rising to the top as Progressive Era reformers and the federal government heard the voices of the people. The effectiveness of Progressivism is a controversial subject for some, but the future was changed through the events of any actions a president made, the rights of people, and unfair treatment and conditions. This era brings changes to our society that also changes the future of it. These two decades brought forth successful times in bettering America.
During the late 19th and early 20th century both the Populist Party and Progressive movement wanted to preserve some things, while also addressing the need for reform. Although many of the ideas and goals of these “Third parties” were initially not legislated and considered far-fetched, many of these ideas later became fundamental laws throughout American history.
The New Deal period has generally - but not unanimously - been seen as a turning point in American politics, with the states relinquishing much of their autonomy, the President acquiring new authority and importance, and the role of government in citizens' lives increasing. The extent to which this was planned by the architect of the New Deal, Franklin D. Roosevelt, has been greatly contested, however. Yet, while it is instructive to note the limitations of Roosevelt's leadership, there is not much sense in the claims that the New Deal was haphazard, a jumble of expedient and populist schemes, or as W. Williams has put it, "undirected". FDR had a clear overarching vision of what he wanted to do to America, and was prepared to drive through the structural changes required to achieve this vision.
...ation focuses on four events that "wrenched the national psyche”: the Senate's rejection of Woodrow Wilson's proposal for a League of Nations; the anti-Bolshevik hysteria that resulted in widespread violence; the enactment of the Eighteenth Amendment and the advent of Prohibition; and the rigged World Series. Asinof, keeps tabs on "self-deceivers and opportunists,” which include Woodrow Wilson, Secretary Edward House, Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer, gangster Al Capone; and gambler Arnold Rothstein. He points out how the Red Scare, led to attacks against civil rights, and argues that Prohibition led to Americans becoming "inured to the finer points of lawlessness." According to Asinof, the Black Sox were the most telling incident in the country's loss of innocence, and he gives an in depth account of it in a dark but highly readable report on a traumatic year.
After the progressive era, World War I brought about domestic threats as a result of the foreign threat. When America entered World War I, many people were afraid of internal dangers threatening the safety of America. The congress passed the Espionage Act to s...